It’s easy to forget that while we live in a privileged country, not everyone here is enjoying the same freedoms. This week, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office is rolling out a campaign to remind people of a very real and immediate problem facing Ohio and the rest of the country.

The campaign, entitled “Human Trafficking Happens Here Too,” launches today, with the main goal of the raising public awareness and increasing recognition of the signs of human trafficking in Ohio and across the United States.

Human trafficking is the subjection of people — children and adults, both male and female — to involuntary servitude for purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation.

It may be something you’ve heard about in movies or TV shows or even seen in international news stories. But it’s not just a problem for scripted actors and it’s not just a problem in foreign countries. It’s happening here in Ohio and other states.

According to the Ohio AG’s 2015 Human Trafficking Commission Annual Report, 102 human trafficking investigations and 104 arrests were reported by law enforcement in 2015. Authorities also reported that more than 200 potential victims of human trafficking were identified during the same time period.

Common warning signs that a person is being trafficked include signs of physical abuse and starvation; a person who does not have any identification documents; seems to be controlled, is rarely alone, and is kept away from family and friends; has a “boyfriend” or “girlfriend” who is much older; runs away from home; talks about traveling to other cities; moves often; has a tattoo that is, in fact, a trafficker’s branding; appears to live at or near a workplace; works with a large group of people in a small space; works long hours and is not free to leave.

A new website, www.ithappensheretoo.org, highlights these and many other warnings signs in hopes that citizens will report to law enforcement suspicious behavior.

Simply making people aware of the problem and the red flags associated with human trafficking can go a long way in bringing criminals to justice, and possibly saving the vulnerable lives of victims.